Track represents state better than Legislature

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I don't know about you, but these repetitive scares about shutting down Saratoga Race Course are starting to get on my nerves.

The latest prediction warned that collateral damage from closing New York City OTB could cause empty barns at the track this coming summer.

Imagine, one of the finest attractions in the state endangered because the Legislature nitwits won't get serious and straighten out the racing mess once and for all.

During the last meet, I spent a few hours wandering through rambling track parking lots looking at license plates. The amount of out of state plates is an eye-opener.

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It's common to see plenty of cars from nearby Massachusetts and New Jersey. What's interesting is the large number from more distant states. Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Maine plates are a common sight.

Besides bringing all these visiting spenders to the Capital Region, the track also has the distinction of being the area's only nationally ranked major league sports attraction.

And I'm convinced the postmark of the world class city known best for racing is part of the lure that convinced folks to buy $1 million condos off Broadway.

Saratoga racing has faced closure threats often despite having brought fame to New York for more than a century. Conversely, the Legislature, especially in more recent times, has often been the source of outrageous infamy.

If anything deserves to be shut down it's the Legislature.

Kiosks deck the malls

Since the holiday shopping season started, new kiosks have popped up like crazy in the corridors at Rotterdam Square.

A head count determined there are 27 of the free-standing vendor locations at the shopping center. It's almost like there is a mall within the mall.

The mallscape seemed a bit crowded so I decided to check out conditions at Crossgates. There are 26 kiosks at the much larger Guilderland mall. In addition, eight shiny new vehicles are interspersed on the concourse as part of a Suzuki sales campaign.

The temporary outlets are offering various Christmas ornaments and trinkets, cuddly and floppy stuffed animals, custom handbags, holiday baked goods and so forth.

Each year, I marvel at the Hickory Farms seasonal display. When the shopping blitz begins hundreds of gift boxes are piled in stacks about six feet high. I always figure they will get stuck with a lot of inventory, but every year the stand winds up empty.

Both malls have added to the inventory of booths offering skin lotions claimed to contain minerals from the Dead Sea. Often, overly persistent sales people chase down shoppers with product samples. Some shoppers are openly annoyed at the aggressive sales pitch.

In a new twist this year at the two malls, kiosks are displaying remote control helicopters. Clerks sometimes fly them darn close to shoppers' heads, but I haven't heard of any collisions.

Longevity on the table

Latham '76 Diner is closing for most of Christmas Day, its first announced shutdown in the 36-year history of the business.

The diner highway marquee says, "Always Open.'' The eatery has never closed even for the death of its owner, who had a lot of pride in its incredible longevity record.

On occasion, when I have mentioned to people that Latham '76 has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for decades, people look at me in disbelief.

"There used to be an old joke about the place that when they were pouring the concrete steps to the front door the keys fell into the mix so we couldn't lock up and close,'' says Tony Pasos, the long-time night manager.

The perfect string of never being closed a full day since the business started will remain intact. The diner will shut down at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve and reopen at 5 p.m. Christmas Day.

Pasos said the owners decided to close for most of Christmas Day to allow employees to spend time with their families.

"Gordie told me he will stay on the job during the three years remaining on my term,'' Dagostino said in response to an item here last week hinting at Pollard's retirement.

"When I asked Gordie about the retirement report he said, 'The only way I'll leave here is in a box''' Dagostino said. Pollard has been with the sheriff's office about 30 years, the last 10 as undersheriff.

The item mentioned that Lt. Bob Hamilton, head of the city police PBA, was in line for the job. "Hamilton has done a good job as manager of the PBA, but he never told me he was interested in being undersheriff,'' Dagostino said.

Jobs-loss spike noticed

Political satirist P.J. O'Rourke was on MSNBC's Morning Joe show recently plugging his latest book -- "Don't Vote -- It Just Encourages the Bastards.''

"I'm disgusted with Democrats and repulsed by Republicans,'' said O'Rourke, who also took a poke at government lawyers. "If they were smart, they would be working for Goldman Sachs, not the government.''

He really got my attention when he said all layers of government have too many lawyers. "Instead of lawyers, government needs more mathematicians on the payroll.''

Seeing how the federal and state governments are deficit-ridden and city, county and town governments are not far from the poor house, O'Rourke makes a good point.

I started watching "Morning Joe" when it was created to replace Imus in the Morning after Don Imus was fired. From the onset, I knew it would be a hit because it showcases business, media and government leaders.

These experts are usually right on top of issues, but they never got seriously vocal about the horrendous lack of jobs situation in the U.S. until about six months ago. The unemployment spike finally got their attention.

In contrast, most folks I deal with have moaned about the mounting jobless situation seemingly forever. Perhaps we were ahead of the curve because Schenectady GE eliminated more than 20,000 jobs years ago.

Regarding the U.S. fiscal problem, a national sales tax would rake in enough revenue to wipe out government debt. Any new tax would be onerous so it would need a sunset clause.

Unfortunately, history has proven a limited tax stipulation won't work. Once the books are balanced, the politicians would repeal the clause and resume their deficit spending.